| Cesar Millan and puppy farms
 Thursday May 07 2009
The well known Dog trainer Cesar Millan who has written several books and has a hit TV show 'The Dog Whisperer' has a new show out called 'Dog Whisperer: Inside Puppy Mills'. The show highlights the neglect and high turnover of breeding that occurs in these factory farming conditions. Cesar Millan is invited to join the animal welfare organization LCA - Last Chance for Animals -while using hidden cameras as they go into various Los Angeles dog-breeding establishments who could be breaking the law.
From one breeder they rescue 11 dogs in their attempt to help save dogs' lives. Cesar Millan then shows the rest of the team how to go about retraining and dealing with the dogs that have been rescued. On the show Sharon Osbourne, the entertainer, adopts one of the retained dogs.
“We are from two different points of rescuing,” Cesar says of LCA.
“They do the physical rescue, I do the psychological rescue. So together it’s a team, it’s a good pack.”
Dog freed after two days in hole. From the BBC
Thursday May 07 2009
Stan became trapped in the hole during a walk on Sunday afternoon
A Jack Russell dog which was stuck down a hole in a Kent quarry for two days has been rescued by fire services.
The dog, Stan, became trapped 30ft (9.1m) down the hole on Sunday afternoon at Quarry Wood Nature Reserve in West Farleigh, near Maidstone.
Specialist teams located Stan using a "snake eye" camera and brought digging equipment to try to reach him but had to abandon the job until Monday.
Stan was finally reunited with his owner shortly after 1230 BST.
Fire station manager Greg Theophanides said: "We managed to locate Stan last night but he'd got himself well and truly stuck which is why we had to start again this morning."
Stan's owner Matt Hayes said he had been concerned that he might not be released and added it was "brilliant" that he was out.
"Stan seems quite unshaken by the ordeal and was soon sniffing round other holes so I got him on the lead quickly," he said.
Black Labrador Jack's amazing story
Thursday May 07 2009
Two year old Labrador Jack went missing from outside his home in Horsham late February. The family were devastated and put out hundreds of posters, contacted the RSPCA, the police, vets and local pet shops. He was first taken in by a couple in Surry who thought he was a stray and was renamed Carlos, however when his new owners split up he was rehomed again. He went to live in Hampshire with relatives of the family and was renamed Sam. When police were called one evening to the house they discovered his microchip. He was reunited with his family eight weeks later. DC West said: "This is a true shagy dog story with a happy ending. Jack went berserk when he saw them and we knew then that he had definitely met them before." The children were over the moon. Mrs Dall said: "He had been missing about eight weeks. The children had been devastated, really upset, and as soon as they found out he was coming back they wanted to come with me to collect him. They are really pleased to have him back."
Marley and Me. From Total film
Tuesday April 14 2009
Golden-skinned, golden-haired journalist couple John and Jenny Grogan (Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston in a mis-match that somehow works) live a sun-kissed life in Florida.
Worried that the missus will want to advance their partnership to parenthood, John buys a Labrador pup, Marley, in the hope that looking after a furry friend will take her mind off procreation.
Thing is, Marley needs a hell of a lot of looking after as he humps poodles, eats sofas and poos in the sea. Aww, adorable, right? But can the Grogans’ marriage survive the ‘worst dog in the world’?
Based on the 2005 bestselling book by the real-life John Grogan, Marley & Me starts out as a curiously flat pratfall comedy that leaves Owen and Jen to roll their eyes as the canine calamities mount up.
Kathleen Turner (looking like Travolta in Hairspray) cameos as a dog trainer who Marley ‘abuses’; hilarity ensues as the terrible hound takes a restaurant table for a walk.
Enchanting perhaps for dog lovers, but others may struggle to see the charm in a mutt who destroys everything. Thankfully, the bad-pooch
antics slow down in favour of more satisfying family business as the Grogans weather difficult parenting, suburban stultification and career disappointment over 13 years.
All the while Marley (played by 22 different dogs) is a regular fixture. The third act, though, is the real emotional sucker-punch as director David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) segues from domestic comedy-drama to full-on heartstring-pulling.
There are no surprises in how this shaggy-dog tale ends, but only the hardest heart will fail to summon a lump in the throat the size of a golf ball, shed a furtive tear and leave the cinema wanting to rub the ears of the first man’s best friend they can find.
Manipulative and sentimental the movie may be, but many viewers will be putty in its paws.
President Obama and family have 'first puppy'. From the BBC
Tuesday April 14 2009
Obama family 'picks first puppy'
Mr Kennedy, a fan of the water dog, is said to have given one to the Obamas
The promised US presidential pooch has been picked, US media reports say.
The soon-to-be "first puppy" is a six-month-old black-and-white Portuguese water dog that the Obama girls have named Bo, the Washington Post reports.
The girls - Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7 - were promised a puppy by their father, US President Barack Obama, as a reward for coping with the election campaign.
The water dog, which does not shed hair, is said to be less aggravating for Malia who suffers from allergies.
The identity of the puppy - which had been one of Washington's best kept secrets - will be officially revealed by the White House on Tuesday afternoon, the Post said.
But news of the furry addition to the Obama family was leaked by unnamed staffers to the Washington Post and AP news agency.
'Good behaviour'
They said young Bo - who sports a white chest, white paws and a white goatee - was a gift to the Obama daughters from close family friend, Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.
Choosing the First Puppy
Mr Kennedy, who owns three water dogs himself, said in January that he was "proud to endorse the Portuguese water dog as the next First Dog of the United States".
He said the breed would be a "perfect fit for the Obama Family" as the dogs have a "can-do and hopeful spirit" and were smart, resilient, determined, optimistic and tireless.
Bo was reported to have charmed the first family during a secret meeting at the White House a few weeks ago, the Post said, citing an unnamed source.
It said the top dog made no toileting errors and did not gnaw on the furniture because he has been receiving lessons in good behaviour from the Kennedys' dog trainers at a secret location outside Washington.
The choice of the US presidential pooch has been a pet topic for the nation's press ever since Mr Obama promised his daughters a puppy during the campaign.
The president, for his part, has embraced the media buzz.
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